Sunbed wars: Viral video shows holidaymakers racing to reserve hotel loungers

Guests have been known to rise at 6am in order to bag a prime sun lounger

The clash in European sunbed etiquette is a big topic of debate among travellers (TikTok/X.....Sarah.....X)

A hilarious TikTok video has gone viral after showing the madness of sunbed-snatching at Europe’s summer holiday resorts.

The video, posted by user @X.....Sarah....X, shows dozens of hotel guests racing to chuck their towels on a sun lounger around a spacious pool, set to comedy, Benny-Hill-style music.

Captioned “The Sunbed Race”, the clip has already had 7.2 million views.

The TikTok creator did not offer a comment on which hotel she filmed the moment at, but based on earlier posts it appears to be the Paradise Park resort in Tenerife.

In a previous video she had bemoaned other guests’ use of towels to reserve sun loungers while they headed off elsewhere, saying “When it’s a race to get a sunbed in the morning, only for no one to use them”.

She filmed a row of sun loungers with towels spread across them, but no occupants.

A spokesperson for Paradise Park, Rafael Ruiz-Benitez de Lugo, told MailOnline: “We were amused to see it, considering that our hotel has five swimming pools and areas with space and sunbeds for everyone.”

“Although we see quite a bit of talent among our guests for obstacle races.”

The clash in European sunbed etiquette is a big topic of debate among travellers. In some European countries it is typical to throw your towel onto a lounger to mark it as yours, while in others tourists only take over a sunbed if they are about to use it for a period of time.

However, the trend for towel-reservations has sparked a flurry of early-morning activity first thing as hotel guests fear missing out on a seat by the pool if they don’t get involved.

Many TikTok users have filmed fellow guests sneaking out at 6am to bag a prime sun lounger before other guests are awake.

Some hotels have outright banned the practice. Last month staff at Tenerife’s Gran Costa Adeje Hotel were filmed removing guest towels from sunbeds nobody had sat on for an hour or more.

The hotel has a policy stating guests cannot reserve a sunbed earlier than 10am.

The clip divided viewers, but many praised the move, with one saying “People who do this are do selfish. The resort we stayed at didn’t police it! Very frustrating.”

Another replied, “Why does this restore my faith in humanity... even if just a little bit?”